TALLADEGA, Ala. --- Given the choice of being fast or smart during today's AMP Energy 500, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle probably will pick smart.

All three suggested they may drop to the back during the first 450 miles at Talladega Superspeedway, then make a charge to the front. By keeping their distance, they will try to avoid likely problems later on.

As the leaders in the Chase for the Championship, they have too much to lose if they're swept into one of the multicar crashes that are common at the 2.66-mile racetrack. And as Jeff Gordon proved a year ago, it's not difficult to drive from 20th place to Victory Lane in the final 10 laps.

"The problem with riding, and what we found last time, is there were more guys hanging back than were up front," Johnson said. "So actually up front was safer than being in the back. That's what we have to monitor inside the car."

Gordon and Johnson kept the lead pack about a quarter-mile ahead of them a year ago. Doing that allowed them to slow down and drive around a couple big crashes. They rode nose-to-tail in the final 25 miles to rally back into contention, with Gordon making a last-lap pass to win the race.

In 2000, Dale Earnhardt went from 18th to a win in the final five laps. Earnhardt used teammate Mike Skinner to carve through traffic that year.

Cars running in tandem can generate more speed because they can divide wind resistance, especially when cars ahead are running three- and four-wide. That's why it's so easy for cars to make up a lot of ground -- and for others to lose it.

If the strategy is to drop to the back, it will be easy for all 12 playoff drivers to do that when the race starts. Edwards qualified 12th on Saturday, the best of anyone in the Chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 15th, but he will drop to the back before the race since he crashed his primary car Friday and will be in a backup today.

Travis Kvapil won the pole with a fast lap of 187.364 mph. Casey Mears is second, followed by Aric Almirola, Regan Smith, Paul Menard, Mike Wallace, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines, Brian Vickers and Martin Truex Jr. Johnson is 20th, Biffle 22nd.

"It is the smart move," said Biffle, who has crashed in three of the past four Chase races at Talladega.